It's Just Class 1-B

"Oh, dear, I really am so careless."

Miyano Makoto said theatrically, in a tone that even he found a little affected.

"Minors aren't allowed to drink, so why would I ever think of taking this?"

As he spoke, his hand reached toward the chest of the girl beside him.

"You wouldn't want the school to find out you were stealing, would you?"

Miyano Makoto lowered his voice.

Kamuro Masumi pursed her lips and reluctantly took a can of beer from inside her clothes, placing it in Miyano Makoto's hand.

"Here, take it. Can I go now?"

Miyano Makoto took the beer, wiped the surface with his hand, and put it back in the refrigerator.

"Of course. I just happened to be passing by. You don't need to ask for my opinion."

Miyano Makoto had no intention of doing anything about this. Students should act like students, but...

"Could you please not do this again?"

"You're so annoying! What I want to do is none of your business!"

Kamuro Masumi left, and Miyano Makoto could only let out a sigh.

"What's wrong?"

Ichinose Honami appeared beside Miyano Makoto. She had witnessed everything that had just happened.

"That seems to be Kamuro from our class. Was she just..."

"Just what you think. She was stealing."

Miyano Makoto told her honestly.

"Honami, maybe you could keep an eye on her. I don't think she steals beer to drink it. I think she just wants to indulge her stealing habit."

"How did you figure that out, Makoto?"

"Because, think about it... Beer tastes awful. Would a high school girl really like it enough to steal it?"

"So you've tried it before, Makoto?"

Ichinose Honami pointed out the problem with what Miyano Makoto had said.

Oh no, Miyano Makoto thought. That was something he'd thought in his previous life, and now he'd let it slip without realizing it.

"I tried a little once."

It wasn't a big problem, though. Miyano Makoto easily made up a past that didn't exist.

"All right. I'll keep an eye on her from now on."

Once the rather uneventful conversation had ended, as far as Miyano Makoto was concerned, he changed the subject to Ichinose Honami.

"Do you have any plans for this afternoon, Honami?"

"Hmm... I'll probably go shopping with my friends."

Ichinose Honami pressed her index finger to her lower lip and turned her head to the side.

"Look, they're watching us over there right now~"

"..."

Miyano Makoto stiffly turned his head toward the direction Ichinose Honami was looking.

Sure enough, several girls who appeared to be browsing the merchandise kept glancing over at them and whispering among themselves.

"Was this your idea, Honami?"

"Nope. They insisted on coming to find out what's going on between you and me. They were there when we ate, too. Honestly, Makoto, you got followed so easily."

Ichinose Honami chided Miyano Makoto for being careless, though her tone was as casual as ever.

"Sorry, sorry. There were so many people around on the first day of school, so I thought it wouldn't be strange if someone was just going the same way. So that's what happened..."

Miyano Makoto admitted he'd been wrong and explained himself to Ichinose Honami.

"Then let's go to the dorms!"

Ichinose Honami wanted to go to the student dorms with Miyano Makoto.

"You can go by yourself, Honami. I'm leaving."

Ichinose Honami watched Miyano Makoto walk away. His hands were empty, and he'd left everything to her.

"What's wrong, Honami? Your boyfriend left you here all alone and ran off?"

When Miyano Makoto had left, the girls, who had been keeping their distance, gathered around Ichinose Honami.

"No, he just has something of his own to take care of. Look, he even left his dorm key card with me!"

Ichinose Honami smiled and showed them the key card for room 301 from her pocket.

"Wow! I'm so jealous. You have a boyfriend who trusts you that much!"

"Come on, we're not in that kind of relationship..."

"..."

"You're not?"

"Nope. Neither he nor I has ever confessed our feelings to the other."

"Even though he trusts you enough to leave you with his dorm key card?"

"Mm-hm."

"..."

The girls fell silent.

Miyano Makoto naturally had something he needed to do, and that was—

Challenge the chess club.

He believed that no one at the school could beat him to challenging a club on the first day of school.

"Is this the chess club?"

"Yes. May I ask who you are...? If you're a new student hoping to join, please come back tomorrow. That's when new students can apply to join clubs."

"No, I'm here to exchange some thoughts about chess with the upperclassmen."

Miyano Makoto denied the student's assumption and explained why he'd come.

"Of course, with a wager."

"Which class are you in?"

The student who greeted him at the door asked. It was an important question.

"Class 1-B."

"Then come on in."

The student at the door stepped aside to let Miyano Makoto enter the clubroom.

"How many personal points are you betting?"

"One hundred thousand."

At that answer, not only the student but also everyone else, who hadn't been paying attention, turned to look.

"One hundred thousand points? Don't you need those to live, junior?"

"It's true that the school provides free necessities and set meals with seasonal vegetables, but it's really not enough for an ordinary person to get by."

The others joined the student in trying to dissuade him.

"It's fine. Thank you for your concern, upperclassmen. Someone else will take care of that for me."

Miyano Makoto felt a little embarrassed. He'd come to challenge the club, so why were people worrying about him instead?

"All right. Since you insist, junior, I won't stand on ceremony."

That was what the upperclassman who had greeted Miyano Makoto at the door said.

Twenty minutes later...

"How is this possible... I... lost?"

"Thank you, senpai. You played well."

Miyano Makoto replied modestly. He'd matched his opponent move for move the whole time, then finished him off with a single move at the very end.

"It's fine. A bet's a bet. It's only one hundred thousand personal points."

The upperclassman readily transferred the points to Miyano Makoto.

"Anyone else want to play? I'll put up two hundred thousand personal points."

Miyano Makoto said evenly. A mere one hundred thousand personal points wasn't enough to satisfy his appetite.

"I'll play!"

The upperclassman who'd warned Miyano Makoto to be mindful of his living expenses spoke up.

Twenty minutes later...

"How is this possible? I lost too...?"

He'd thought this would be an easy win. After all, Miyano Makoto's skill had seemed merely average to him.

But as soon as they started, he realized that Miyano Makoto was on par with him. Then, at the last moment, Miyano Makoto had finished him off.

"Hey... you're not pretending to be weak to catch us off guard, are you?"

"How could I be?"

Miyano Makoto gave a wry smile.

"I just got lucky that time. You don't need to doubt your own skill, senpai. Thanks for the game."

After accepting the two hundred thousand personal points the upperclassman transferred to him, he said,

"I'll put up four hundred thousand personal points. Who wants another game?"

"..."

The upperclassman was already looking at Miyano Makoto differently. And he still claimed he hadn't been pretending to be weak?